Sideline Sid Sports correspondant & historian www.sunlive.co.nz

Some words within a comment on Super Rugby bypassing Tauranga, on SunLive last week, were right on the money.

'Let Rotorua keep the Super games allocated to the Bay, and work on promoting Bay Oval for international cricket, and the ASB arena for netball.”

While ASB Baypark is a part time rugby venue, the Bay Oval and ASB Arena were both designed to host top level sport, with all the amenities and home comforts that patrons demand in today's world.

The ASB Arena, was built to give the Western Bay of Plenty an indoor stadium capable of again hosting Australasian Netball championship games.

In 2012, the Baypark indoor arena hosted the ANZ Championship pre-season tournament and also the quad series between the Silver Ferns, Australian Diamonds, England and South Africa.

However the ASB Arena is not a one-trick pony, with the NZ Breakers showcasing their basketball talents and even a lower echelon of the Davis Cup being played at the stadium in recent years.

In just a couple of days the stadium was transformed into a quality tennis court, with the required artificial surface laid down.

Just a hop, step and a jump from Baypark, is the country's latest international cricket venue of the Bay Oval at Blake Park.

In less than a decade the Bay Oval has gone from an unused corner of Blake Park to hosting international cricket.

When the first excavations took place in March 2005, few would have imagined that the Black Caps would play South Africa, less than 10 years later.

The turning point to international cricket was the Bay Oval receiving the ICC warrant of fitness.

The entree to this year's Black Caps initial match in the Western Bay of Plenty, was the staging of a dozen ICC World Cup Qualifying matches and the White Ferns games against West Indies in the early part of 2014.

Bay of Plenty Cricket history will be made on Tuesday, October 21, 2014, when the Black Caps play South Africa in the first Black Caps ODI (One Day International) at the Bay Oval.

Three days later, the Black Caps and South Africa will back up in the second ODI at the Bay Oval on Friday, September 24, before moving to Seddon Park in Hamilton for the third game of the ANZ International Series on Labour Monday, September 27, 2014.

The Black Cap side to play South Africa is likely to have a strong Bay of Plenty player presence. In the last few seasons, Kane Williamson and Trent Boult have graduated from the Bay of Plenty senior men's teams to the Black Caps by way of the Northern Knights.

In addition Corey Anderson stormed into the New Zealand side last season from his residence in the Western Bay of Plenty last season.

Coincidently current Black Cap star Kane Williamson smashed the first century at the Bay Oval when he blasted 131 for the Bay of Plenty under 19 side in March 2007.

In addition to the Black Game matches this season, the Bay Oval is to host pre World Cup visits from Afghanistan and Ireland and another White Ferns series, with the Northern Knights also playing at the venue on a number of occasions.